Queen of Camelot

by Nancy McKenzie

Since the night the old woman spoke the prophesy at Guinevere’s birth, people have looked at her a little strangely, for it was told that she will be a great queen and that her fate will be one no one will envy. This is hard for Guinevere to believe, since she is just the daughter of a lesser king, and besides, it’s her cousin Elaine who constantly dreams over the young King Arthur, though she has never met him. But when people are beginning to look for a new wife for Arthur, an old friend of Guinevere’s recommends the fifteen-year-old princess as a bride for the King. When Arthur cannot come to escort Guinevere to Camelot himself, he sends a few of his knights to fetch her, including Lancelot, who falls almost instantly in love with the wild-haired princess, and she with him. With this new problem added to Elaine’s jealous rages, the fear she has of displeasing the King, and Merlin’s apparent disapproval of her, how will Guinevere survive her new life and be a good partner for Britain’s High King?

I really enjoyed this book a lot; it engaged me quickly and brought the famous names from the Arthurian legends to life with surprising reality. Anyone not yet ready for Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon will eagerly finish this book and will be well satisfied. Queen of Camelot was originally published as two novels, titled The Child Queen and The High Queen.

****Also posted on YA Books Central.****